Daily poll: Are the feds doing the right thing by not appealing a court ruling that erases the most serious charges against five Operation Bid Rig III targets?

Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey JournalThough he faces other charges, former Jersey City Assemblyman Louis Manzo received some good news this week when federal authorities decided not to appeal a court decision that erases the most serious corruption charges Manzo and four other targets of the Operation Bid Rig III sting faced.

Federal authorities have decided not to appeal a February court ruling that threw out the most serous charges against former Jersey City Assemblyman Louis Manzo, his brother, and three other defendants arrested in the massive corruption sting of 2009.

Wednesday was the deadline to file the appeal and U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman let the deadline pass.

Manzo and his brother Ron were charged with corruption under the federal Hobbs Act, which is a law that prohibits elected officials from trading on their influence.

But there was only one hitch in the government's case: Neither Manzo nor his brother held any elected positions when they allegedly accepted bribes from government informant Solomon Dwek in 2009.

Louis Manzo was running for mayor at the time, but he wasn't an elected official.

The ruling also affects the cases of former Jersey City Councilman Jimmy King, former Housing Authority Commissioner Lori Serrano, and LaVern Webb-Washington -- all of whom were running for council seats when they accepted money from Dwek, but held no elected office.

King and Washington have already pleaded guilty to accepting bribes and Serrano's case has not yet gone to trial.

The Manzos still face bribery and mail fraud charges. But the corruption charges that carried the greatest penalties have gone away.